Chapter 374
~ PUNISHMENT FOR JIN WANG ~
Feeling his increasingly focused gaze, Mu Yunyao lowered her eyes and ignored him, carefully cleaning the blood off her hands in a basin at the side. “Speaking of which, the Meng family has suffered heavy losses this time. Meng Yanran was gifted to death by the Emperor because of her rude words, and Meng Handong was murdered secretly. Meng Yu had been stripped of his official position and had not been hired for five years. His talent was already mediocre. So after five years, he would no longer have any career opportunities. I’m afraid the Grand Preceptor Meng probably won’t let things rest once we return to the Capital.”
Seeing her uneasiness, Yue Wang didn’t have the slightest intention of restraining his gaze. He liked to see Mu Yunyao reveal a different expression because of him, as though this could prove that he was different in her heart. “The Imperial Concubine De was spoiled in the Palace and gradually lost her sense of propriety when she spoke and did things. By doing so, Imperial Father was also warning the Meng family. He hope they can consider their own weight and also make Grand Preceptor Meng wary of losing the reputation of the family in the later years.”
“The Emperor’s thoughts are really unfathomable.”
“That’s right. If it weren’t for this, Imperial Father wouldn’t have been able to walk all the way from a prince with poor birth to the present day, becoming an enlightened ruler that the people support.”
The two of them chatted for a while longer before Mu Yunyao got up and said her goodbyes, “Don’t touch the wounds on Fourth Master’s back, don’t get it wet, and be extra careful in the next two days of hunting. Don’t easily involve the wound. The wound left by saving my mother before has not been cured and will add another injury. I’m afraid it’s better to have a rest for a few days.”
“It’s fine. I’ll send you back.”
Mu Yunyao hurriedly shook her head. “This is too eye-catching. I can go back by myself. Si Shu is waiting for me at a place not too far away, and it’s only a few steps away, so there’s no danger.”
“The Imperial Father is furious. The officials don’t even dare to breathe loudly. At this time, all of them are staying in their own tents to pretend to be deaf and blind. Don’t worry, no one dares to say anything.”
“There’s really no need....” Mu Yunyao shook her head in refusal. Yue Wang was still injured, so he couldn’t go out and run around.
Yue Wang stood up and stretched his hand out to take the cloak that hung at the tent’s entrance. He personally draped it over Mu Yunyao’s body and rubbed her head through the cloak: “Let’s hurry up and leave. I’ll send you back shortly so I can come back earlier to rest.”
The touch above her head was warm and heavy. Mu Yunyao blankly raised her head, and only after a long while did she blink back to her senses. Her face instantly flushed red, and she knew that no matter how she tried to refute him, it was useless, so she hurried out.
Yue Wang said that he was sending Mu Yunyao off. However, he walked a little far away from her. When he saw her back to her own tent, he turned around and left.
Seeing Mu Yunyao return, Jin Lan hurriedly went to greet her. “Miss, are you alright?”
Mu Yunyao shook her head and took off the cloak on her body. However, she didn’t hand it over to Jinlan, who reached out to receive it. Instead, she placed it on the inside of the bed. “This cloak is from His Royal Highness Yue Wang. I’ll find a chance to give it back to him tomorrow.”
Jin Lan held in her laughter and nodded her head. “Yes, your servant will fetch hot water for Miss to wash up.”
The next two days were calm and peaceful. The officials thought of ways to express themselves and strive to make the Emperor happy.
Jin Wang thought that the incident was over. However, the day before he left the paddock, the Emperor suddenly felt that the scenery around the hunting grounds was not bad, and he wanted to build a Palace here. It would be more convenient to hunt and live in the future. Finally, the matter was finalized, and the task of supervising the site selection of the Jianxing Palace fell on him.
Hearing this, Jin Wang’s pale face turned even more unsightly. “Imperial Father, your son is willing to share your worries. It’s just that this son is in charge of matters between the Ministry of Public Affairs and the Ministry of Rites. It’s hard to avoid this....”
The Emperor nodded, “If you don’t say it, I have forgotten about it. Junyue has been back from Western Guangdong for some time. As a prince, he should have learned how to share the worries of his father. Since you have always been more at ease than him. No matter where you are, you can do the tasks I assigned very well. Thus, you should first enter the work department to supervise the affairs of the Jianxing Palace. As for the Ministry of Public Affairs and the Ministry of Rites’s matter, let Fourth Son train in them. ”
After a few moments of restraint, Jin Wang allowed his voice to remain calm, “Yes.” It was just a simple word, but it seemed to take him a lot of effort and have cost him a great deal of energy. When he walked out of the tent, his steps were a little shaky.
Coincidentally, Yue Wang had come to seek an audience. Thus, the two met at the entrance of the tent.
“Fourth Imperial Brother, congratulations.”
Yue Wang raised his head, his expression as cold as ever. “I still need to learn more from Third Imperial Brother.”
When Mu Yunyao heard this news, she couldn’t help but laugh for a long time. She really didn’t expect that the astute and scheming Jin Wang would have such failures in the future.
According to the memories of her past life, Yue Wang had returned to the Capital the next year. At that time, Jin Wang was already in the Capital and was in an inextricable fight with Ling Wang, and he would have gathered a group of strategists to come up with some ideas. He would be extra careful with every step, afraid that if he took one wrong step and was crushed by Ling Wang, who had the same reputation as him.
But now, Jin Wang hasn’t grown to the next level, his speaking and doing things are not as dripping as before, so he fell a big somersault.
Mu Yunyao is very leisurely. Now she can ride a horse for a short trot. Yue Wang asked someone to make a small bow especially for her, but it’s a pity that she doesn’t have enough strength. Even if the bow and arrow have been changed several times, she still can’t shoot far away. I’m afraid she can’t reach the goal of hunting a rabbit before leaving the hunting ground.
Seeing that they were about to leave the hunting grounds tomorrow, Mu Yunyao went to Grand Princess Yi De’s tent to make tea for her. In these past few days, she had frequently come over and learned a lot about Grand Princess Yi De’s temperament. It was said that the princess was really a rare woman, and she can’t help but respect her in her heart.
Held the cup of tea fragrance in her hand, Grand Princess Yi De looked at the meek Mu Yunyao and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. No wonder this child was able to rise in Jingling City. After a few days of contact with her, even she was picky, she still didn’t notice anything amiss about her.
On the contrary, she took care of her extremely well. Sometimes, they wouldn’t even see each other for most of the day, and she even had some thoughts about her. She always felt that something was missing from her side, and even Qu Mama said that she’d lost her favor in the past few days.
“How are the injuries on Junyue’s body?”
Mu Yunyao knew that she couldn’t hide from Grand Princess Yi De when she went to Yue Wng’s tent to help him heal his wound. Thus, she wasn’t too surprised but instead smiled generously, “Reporting to Grand Princess, Yue Wang’s wounds have already formed a scab. He has been recuperating well these days, and he will be fine in a few days. I just heard from His Highness that his wounds are itchy and feel a little uncomfortable at night.”
The Grand Princess Yi De really cared about Yue Wang. So whenever he was mentioned, Mu Yunyao would explain in as much detail as possible.
“He is a good kid, but he doesn’t think much of himself. He has been injured a lot in the past few years in Western Guangdong. He is a prince, but his life is almost the same as a military general’s. Only he has that kind of ability.”
Mu Yunyao smiled but didn’t speak. She now had a deeper understanding of the relationship between Grand Princess Yi De and Yue Wang.